New population of Cycas sphaerica Roxb . ( Cycadaceae ) discovered in Pinjarikonda Reserve Forest , Andhra Pradesh , India

Cycas sphaerica Roxb., an Eastern Ghats endemic, known from different localities of Odisha and Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh is located in Pinjarikonda Reserve Forest of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. Nearly 700 individuals were observed in the study area. Present report extends the distribution range of the species in Andhra Pradesh.

Cycas is a single genus of the family Cycadaceae consisting of 100 species.It is the sole living cycad group occurring in Asia (Lindstrom & Hill 2007) (Ranjay et al. 2010), hence seven species are presently recognized in India.C. sphaerica was first mentioned by Roxburgh in 1814, and described in 1832 (Lindstrom & Hill 2007).As reported by Raju in (2006) C. sphaerica Roxb. is morphologically similar to C. circinalis L. in most respects but differs in certain characters such as megasporophyll structure.
C. sphaerica Roxb. is endemic and distributed along the hilly tracts of Eastern Ghats of northern Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (Reddy et al. 2007;Varghese & Krishnamurthy 2010).In Andhra Pradesh, it is found occasionally in dry deciduous forests in northernmost part of Srikakulam District and woodlands of Palakonda, Donubayi and Seetampet areas (Reddy et al. 2007).A population of more than 500 trees exists at Jalanthrakota Reserve Forest in the low elevation deciduous forest in Srikakulam District (Raju et al. 2009).In Odisha, these are occasionally found in the woodlands of Gajapathi, Ganjam, Khurda, Cuttack and Dhenkanal districts; sparse in moist deciduous forests of Phulbani, Boudh, Nayagarah, Angul, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts (Reddy et al. 2007).In the flora of Srikakulam District it was mentioned under the name of C. circinalis L. (Rao & Sreeramulu 1986).It is listed in IUCN as Data Deficient and is included in CITES Appendix II (Varghese & Krishnamurthy 2010).
In Eastern Ghats there are three Cycas species among which C. beddomei, is endangered (Rao 2010), a global endemic species and known only from Seshachalam Hills in Andhra Pradesh.C. circinalis L. is restricted to the Western Ghats and some parts of Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Vegetation type is the tropical dry deciduous forest.
The overall population size of C. sphaerica Roxb. is not known (Varghese & Krishnamurthy 2010).Detailed survey and documentation of geographical distribution of the native cycad taxa, their pests and diseases is urgently needed (Muniappan & Virakatamath 2006).Endemic plants are more prone to extinction for various reasons as they are habitat specific.Because of unstable habitats, in a small area with a limited population they are extra stressed.Therefore, such endemics must be prioritized for conservation efforts (Rawat 2009).Indian cycads are threatened largely as a result of human activities (Singh & Singh 2011).Hill is also called 'Kodadakonda'.This is the second distribution record from Andhra Pradesh.Some threats like forest fire, collection of male cones and collection of tender leaves were observed in the location.Tender leaves are used as a leafy vegetable and male cones are placed in their house, it is believed to protect their families from evil spirits.
Discussion: From East Godavari District one or two Cycas plants were observed by Rolla Seshagiri Rao in 1947 along the dense forest and reported as C. circinalis L. from Maredumilli and Dummakonda areas (Rao et al. 1999).There is no information on Cycas sphaerica Roxb.from the study area, this is the first distributional record form the East Godavari District.Distribution of this species from the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha was reported by Singh & Singh (2011).Present exploration enhances the distributional area of this species in Andhra Pradesh (Fig. 1).
Conclusions: The present habitat of C. sphaerica Roxb.has provided extended distribution of this species in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh.This species may be present in other localities of the East Godavari District, so further studies need to be carried out with concerns on distribution, population size and threats to the habitat in the present location as well as other areas of the Eastern Ghats where it is available.The present location Pinjarikonda Reserve Forest is the suitable for in situ conservation of this species and investigate the need to introduce this species into the botanical gardens for ex situ conservation practices.